It originally read (abbreviated) : On August 26th, 2015 I was ridding down the road with my buddy Max, out for a little ride, some training and a nice day to catch up. Only about 30 minutes into the ride, we were riding south on Fitchburg Rd and as we can down the hill after the Apple Orchard we heard honking coming from behind us. As any cyclist would, we looked behind us to see what it was. 9 times out of 10, it’s an angry driver taking his frustration from work or somewhere else out on you, but for the 1 time you make sure everything is ok, and that you’re safe. This time it was an angry driver, driving just off our back wheels, honking away and revving his engine. I waived him around and he continued to honk. Max and I were riding side by side, which although legal is sometimes what is pissing the driver off and I’m not about to argue with an angry man about it on the road. So Max and I went single file as I looked back and waived at the driver. He accelerated hard past us nearly clipping my bar by way less than an arm’s length. Arms went up in displeasure and as far as we could tell, incident over. We had his plate number and we were content to report it and go about our business.
And as common as that is, it’s usually the end of it. But we quickly saw the driver’s brake lights come on as he pulled over and jumped out of his car. He was a big man, big shoulders and tall, made more intimidating by his stance, arms out looking ready to tackle someone as he screamed “You want to talk about this? Let’s settle this!” Max and I would have been insane to stop so as we swerved around him wide to avoid any possible contact intentional or otherwise, we said “No thanks, we’ve got your license plate number, we’re good!” Believe me, I was content enough to just be safe and report his recklessness (knowing nothing would happen anyways) and continue our ride. If anything my anger would come out in the intervals and maybe I’d set some personal bests or something. Once again, incident over right? It sure seemed like it was over as we continued to pedal down the road just passing Adams Rd on or left as we continued straight. It’s worth saying at this point that at no point during this entire occurrence was there anyone else on the road, not another car, cyclist, or object for that matter. As we pedaled away with a little extra urgency and my heart rate started to normalize, I began to let my guard down, but in that same moment, in the flash of a second I heard to engine again and then from under my arm a headlight just at my hip all in the blink of an eye. I heard the unmistakable sound of scrapping carbon and sliding tires followed by a pop and a bang as I flew first into Max and then up and over my bars onto the pavement and off into the gravel and grass at the side of the road. Things get blurry at this point. I found my phone, I don’t really remember finding it, but I know it was on the ground because it’s full of scratches and I suddenly had it in my hand calling 911. As I was making the call I looked around saw Max bleeding, saw myself bleeding and seeing my bike lying in the road. At some point the driver came back, got out of his car and started yelling as he leaned on the trunk of his car. His anger was obvious as he yelled at us about how there was a bike path nearby and how we were obstructing traffic and how this was our fault. I can’t quote him, because to be honest I don’t clearly remember much at this point, but as we assessed the damage, a women on a bike which had passed going the other way had come back and so had a lady in an SUV. As the lady in the car and cyclist helped us, the man continued to argue with us about the righteousness of his actions. There was no remorse, there was no concern for us, and there was no apology, no logic, only anger. The kind of anger that I’ve only ever seen turn to violence. The police and medics arrived on scene and took hold of the situation. We were cared for, as the police took statements. I was still shaking from the shock, trying to keep a level head and keep things calm, both other people and myself. I realize now that my humor at the time was only a defense mechanism. I joked and kept things light to defuse the situation, but as time passed, the humor is fading and I only feel fear and anger about the situation. I’ll ride again when healthy, but whereas at the time I was light hearted, I now look back and realize that I could have been killed, if only the drivers aim had been better. After the fact, I began to get a headache and because it was already important to do, Max and I went to the ER to get things checked out. Their initial fears were that we had significant trauma and according to their procedures, and based on the speeds of the incident, we should have had significant trauma. I guess we are lucky or good at falling, I don’t care why, I’m just happy Max and I are ok. But after a long night of checks and tests, Max and I were cleared with only abrasions, and I had a concussion as well. This message was sent from a small glass screen. > On Sep 1, 2015, at 8:51 PM, Robbie Webber <[email protected]> wrote: > > The blog post has been taken down, but yes, I read it yesterday. > > Robbie Webber > Transportation Policy Analyst > 608-263-9984 (o) > 608-225-0002 (c) > [email protected] > All opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my > employer or any other group with which I am affiliated. > >> On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 6:23 PM, Gmail <[email protected]> wrote: >> Waiting for charges. >> http://theaveragejoseph.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-accident-on-purpose.html?m=1 >> >> Apologies if you have seems this already. >> >> This message was sent from a small glass screen. >> _______________________________________________ >> Bikies mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org >
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